Alliance Francaise in Yaalpaanam updates
Francophone culture
by K. S. Sivakumaran
Yours truly was in the northern capital Yaalpaanam (erroneously
anglicised as Jaffna) between March 18 and 20, on an invitation from
the Directorate of the Alliance Francaise, as a guest for a two-day
programme. The man behind the activities patronised by students in
French in the institute, as well as students studying English Literature
and French in the Yaalpaanam University was Monsieur Gerard
Robuchon. He manages the institute and also teaches French in the
university. Earlier he was attached to the University of Kelaniya. Born
in Tunisia to French parents, Dr. Robuchon had lived in Paris in
France and Colombo in Sri Lanka for a long time. He is not only a
scholar in French in literature but also understands, speaks and
writes Thamil. This is a great asset for Thamilians. He knows Sinhala
as well. He has translated English and Thamil poems into French, and
has introduced Lankan literature to French audiences. One of his
books in English was Honouring Martin Quere, OMI. This was a
collection of articles by Lankan writers on various subjects. Philipe
Fabry also helped him to compile this book.
In the May-August 2005 issue of Nethra, published by the ICES
(International Centre of Ethnic Studies) in Colombo, he had written an
interesting article in English titled "Post-Tsunami Thamil Literature in
Sri Lanka". Another article by him is on "Plantation Thamil literature in
Sri Lanka". He has written more than 70 articles based on his
research into Lankan literature.
It was only on the 12th of March, "The Poets’ Springtime" was held at
the Alliance Francaise, at 83, Palaly Road, Kantharmadam in
Yaalpaanam. The programme included: Poetry reading – a selection
of French modern poems of the 19th and 20th centuries with their
translation in Thamil, a visual exhibition on the format of the poem that
included Calligrammes by Guillaume Apollinaire (Thamil translation on
posters), Poem-objects in Thamil translation from Paul Claudel, Victor
Segalen: hand fans, slabs, bamboos- and another sort of poetry-
books: Raymond Queneau, Jacques Rouband. Thus, we see Gerard
Robuchon is very imaginative and creative in the execution of
introducing French culture to Lankans, particularly those in distant
north.
In the two-day programme, where yours truly participated, there was a
showing of a film from Senegal in Africa. The film, ‘Madame Brouette’-
Mrs. Wheelbarrow, directed by Moussa Sene Absa, was a beautiful
portrayal of contemporary proletariat life in the Dark Continent. A
discussion followed with the students. Gerard explained the
background and the finer points in the film. Such an exposure to
students in Yaalpaanam was something new. Some of them lecturers
in the university sounded knowledgeable and this helped me to be in
line with their frequency.
The following Sunday, March 19 saw ‘A Day for Francophonie’. This
part of the programme included three segments: Poetry Reading-
poems in French by non-French poets, writing in French from French-
speaking countries (Africa, West Indies, Quebec) and Thamil
translations; an exhibition of posters on the new generation of
Francophone writers (Africa, West Indies, Indian Ocean); An exhibition
of photos on several French-speaking countries. (Mali, Martinique,
Guadeloupe, Guyane, Reunion, Tahitti, Quebec).
This was an exciting day for me, because the varied and talented
audience that included teachers in the English Department of the
Yaalpaanam University spoke with me and shared their views just as
much as I did talk with them about my experiences as a writer and
journalist. More than that, I was educated in knowing more about the
Caribbean and other writers writing in French.
The Alliance Francaise has many branches in Sri Lanka and each
functions independently. The one in Yaalpaanam is functioning since
1976. This institution had introduced Africa and its cultural universe. If
not for this opportunity that was given to me by Gerard Robuchon,
Varathan, Ramani and another youngster that were in the committee,
I wouldn’t have gathered information on Francophone writers and
artistes.
Let me allow Dr. Gerard Robuchon to speak about the exhibition of
poems -
"I wanted to show how a thing can become a poem. So.Po (S.
Pathmanathan, a leading poet in Thamil, and an academic attached
to the University of Yaalpanam) had an interesting suggestion. He
took a clay pot (‘aduppu’ in Thamil) reversed it in search of any
written poem at the bottom. There was no such poem but he finally
said the right thing - anyhow the thing is a poem by itself. Yes, it is,
and so was the objective of the exhibition. A poem is an existential
experience, not only for the writer but also for the reader."
Some of those residents of Yaalpaanam that have translated poems
in French into Thamil include: So.Po. and Vandana, (I believe it was
she who read a poem in French). There were others: Mrs.
Muthukumarasamy, Sivagowry, Sister Selvajothy. No less than five of
Dr. Robuchon’s students, who could translate poems from French.
During the poetry reading there was lilting and fantastic music. The
performers were Amadou and Mariam (a blind couple from Mali), Ami
Koita (from Mali), Zao (Congo) and Souad Massi (Algeria). They are
well known in France too.
The poets featured were Leopold Sedar Senghor (the poet-president
of Senegal), David Diop (Senegal), Rene Philombe (Cameroon),
Camara Aye (Guinea), Aime Cesaire (French West Indies), Anne
Hebert & Hector de saint-Denys Garneau (Quebec,Canada). A
Scottish/French poet was also featured. He was Kenneth White,
whose poem on the Geese was fantastically read by Gerard
Robochun.
Since I had translated a few French poems via English into Thamil,
particularly a few of Jacques Prevert, the Alliance Francaise de Jaffna
invited me to read a translation of a poem into Thamil. The poem was
originally written by me in English. The poem was titled "A Subliminal
Assault". Yours truly had translated his own poem in his mother
tongue. He read his Thamil version at the poetry-reading segment.
The organisers (chiefly Gerard Robochon) exhibited photos and
notes on Francophone writers and short notes on Claude Monet,
Georges Braque, Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Claudel, Victor Segalen,
Carl de Souza, Yasmine Khadra, Calixthe Beyala, Ken Bugul, Gisle
Pineau, Anada Devi, Veronique Tadjo, Ael Gauvin.
Let me conclude with the list of French films that the aesthetically-
inclined filmgoers in Yaalpaanam had seen and enjoyed. Probably
you too would like to se them. Get the names correct.
Fahrenheit 451 (Francois Truffaut), Entre Quartre -z-Yeux (I wish that
I could see this film, if it is shown in Colombo). This is a music film on
the French musician Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Orfeu Negrao
(Marcel Camus), Asterix- Mission Cleopatre (Alain Chabat). This film
was shown at the Goa International Film Festival of India. I judiciously
avoided seeing this film, as there were better French films shown
there. The other films shown in Yaalpaanam that missed seeing were:
Papillon (Franklin J. Schaffner), Notre-Dame De Paris (Jean
Delannoy), L’Enquete Corse (Alain Berberian), Arsene Lupin (Jean-
Paul Salome), Amen (Costa-Gavara), Himalaya (Jacques Perrin & Eric
Valli), Amadeus (Milos Forman), The Man in the ironMask (Costa-
Gavara), Microcosmos (Jacques Perrin), La Passion De Jeanne D’Arc
( Carl Th. Dreyer)
